Genesis 1:14 - The Signs of Time

And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:

God established the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, for the benefit of all the nations under the whole heaven (Deuteronomy 4:19). These lights form the day and night (Psalm 74:16), and are used for signs (of the time) and for seasons (of sowing, planting and reaping), and for days, and years; even in the end times, there will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars (Luke 21:25).



In the news: Blessing the Sun: Jewish ceremony comes around once every 28 years; World of the Sages: The sun's new cycle; Birkat haChammah: An Evocative Blessing.

Genesis 38:9 - Levirate Matrimony & Onanism

And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother.

The seed should not be his because the first born son would carry on the name of Er so that his dead brother's name would not be forgotten in Israel (Deuteronomy 25:6). Spilled it on the ground is considered a form of contraception from which we get the term "onanism." Although Onan did not masturbate, masturbation ends with the same result - a wasted ejaculation.